TheHistoryOfUnequalAppraisalAndWhatThatMeans ForYOU!
DOYOUKNOWWHATUNEQUALAPPRAISALISANDHOWITCANHELPYOU INYOURFIGHTFORFAIRTAXES?
*Itsok!Wedidn’teitheratfirst!
BACKGROUNDOFUNEQUALAPPRAISAL
Duringthe1997legislativesession,majorchanges weremadetotheTexasPropertyTaxCode.Oneof thereformswastherighttoappealpropertytaxes basedonunequalappraisal.HarrisCountyAppraisal Districtchoseto VIGOROUSLY OPPOSE thisprovision ofthetaxcode.(SHOCKER!)
AppealingbasedonunequalappraisalisBENEFICIAL becauseitallowsanownertoreducethetaxeseven ifthepropertyisassessedformuchlessthanthe marketvalue.
Inthepast,appraisaldistrictswantedaVERYCOMPLICATEDprocesstohearcasesofunequal appraisalwhichwasEXTREMELYEXPENSIVEtoprepare.Thenewapproachalsomadejudicial appealsfinanciallyfeasibleandeffective
WHYAREN’TPROPERTIESASSESSEDEQUALLYTOBEGINWITH?
Youmaybewonderingwhypropertiesaren’tassessedequally
Somereasonsinclude:
1. Dataerrors
2. Focusingonlyonrecentsales
3.VARIATIONSintheinformalandARBhearings.
Sincetheappraisaldistricttracksover1.4millionrealpropertyaccountsinHarrisCounty,itis unrealistictoexpectallofthedatatobeaccurate.
ATTHISPOINT,YOUAREPROBABLYTHINKING“THISSOUNDSGREAT!HOW CANIUSEITTOMYADVANTAGE?”
Firstandforemost:FileAnAppealAnnually AccordingtotheTexasComptroller,lastyear2/3ofappealsweresuccessful.
**OntheNoticeofProtestform,youmustselectareason(s)foryourappeal.Besuretocheck theboxesforbothmarketvalueandunequalappraisal.
Here’swhattodotoprepareforyourhearing:
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Enteryourinformationbelowtoenrollin thePropertyTaxProtectionProgram andhaveyourpropertytaxesprotested. FirstName
PleaseselectPropertyType
2025Protest:Appliestothe majorityofTexasproperty ownerswhose2024valuenotice fromthecountyisdatedmore than30daysagoandthedateis pastMay15,2024.
2024Protest:Appliesto selectTexaspropertyowners wherethe2024valuenoticeis datedLESSthan30daysago. Call713.290.9700todiscusswitha representative. PleasemonitoryourE-mailandspam filter.Ifyoudon'treceiveyourenrollment documentswithin24businesshours, call713.290.97008am-5pmCST
Byclickingenroll,youconsenttous filingaprotestonyourbehalfand agreetoourterms
Freeonlineenrollmentin3minutes.No costunlesstaxesarereduced, guaranteed
1.Prepareforyourhearing(s)bygatheringthecomparablehomesalesinyourarea.Ifyouown ouwillneedtocreateanincomeanalysis.Inaddition,reviewthe tyaswellastheassessmentsforcompetingorsimilar properties.
2.Considerthelevelofassessmentforapproximately5to15similarpropertiesandsummarize thedatainaspreadsheet.
3.Todeterminenegotiatingparameters,beginwithsettingthe lowerlimit(ofassessedvalue) thatisreasonabletorequestandconcludebysettingthehighestlevelofassessmentyou willacceptfortheyearunderappeal(withoutcontinuingtheappealprocesstotheARBand judicialappeallevel).
4.Youshouldpresentinformationonbothmarketvalueandunequalappraisalattheinformal, and,ifnecessary,ARBhearings.
*HereisalinkforaUniversalProtestForm.*
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By:PatrickO'Connor|Postedon07/12/2018with6comments
COMMENTS
VernonFletchersaid: September11,2018at10:04am
WeneedhelpfightingRollBackTaxesonpropertywepurchased.Problemisweonlyhaveatotalof 4.77Acres!
Reply
FaithChiaravallosaid: September11,2018at10:32am
HiVernon!Giveourcustomerserviceteamacallat713-290-9700andthey wouldbegladtohelpyouout!
Reply
RobertButmansaid: March12,2019at6:36pm
DearPatrick,(I’maddressingthiscommentdirectlytoyoubecauseIsuspectitwillrequireyouto personallylookintothismatter.Ihavebeenacustomerofyourfirmformanyyears.Forsomeofthose yearsIhadtwoproperties,virtuallyadjacenttoeach,andeachwithexactlythesameland,nospecial upgrades,sameagedroofs,etc,thathaddifferentvaluations.Despitemycomplainingaboutthisyear afteryear,theyremainedatunequalvaluations.Lastyearthe“projected”valuationshadbeenrevised towheretheyfinallywerebothvaluedthesame.
Thenyourteamwenttoworkonmyvariousproperties,andwhentheyweredone,Inowhavetwopairs ofproperties,adjacenttoeachother,etc,thatonceagain,havedifferentvaluationsfromtheirtwin.The differenceiscostingmeabout$300ayearmoreintaxthanitscounterpart. CanyoupleasetrytogetthesepropertiesassignedtheSAMEvaluationastheirtwin?Contactmeif youneedmorespecifics.
HiOscar!Theover65exemptionshouldactuallyfreezeyourschooltaxes.In mostcases,yourothertaxeswillstillgoup.
